


to friends

by ohlawsons



Series: cat nua [7]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Gen, Pillars Prompts Weekly, Post-Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-12-26 09:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12056118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlawsons/pseuds/ohlawsons
Summary: Just because Aloth doesn't live at Caed Nua anymore doesn't mean that Neria can't surprise him every now and again.





	to friends

“Look, wizard, if you're going to pout I'm gonna have to kick you out of my party.”

Aloth hardly glances up; it’s clear from the way Neria speaks that she’s had a bit too much to drink already this evening -- even if it wasn’t, there’s a tell-tale sway to her steps as she approaches him -- and he's certain that she won't  _ actually  _ kick him out, not while she can still have fun at his expense.

So he lets the  _ wizard _ quip go, and sighs. “You know very well I'm not  _ pouting _ .”

“Pouting, thinking -- same thing.” The Watcher leans forward and plants a hand on the table that Aloth is sitting at. “It’s a fucking  _ party _ . Drink, dance, have a little fun.” She gestures out towards the rest of the main hall of the keep, which has been temporarily cleared and brightened up for the celebration. 

But he’s been eager to get back to his work dismantling the Leaden Key; he hardly regrets returning to Caed Nua for a bit, and hadn’t hesitated upon learning that Neria had successfully dealt with whatever was lurking beneath the keep grounds, but he can’t quite rid himself of the nervous energy that’s plagued him ever since arriving. Still, he has  _ tried _ , and gives Neria a somewhat admonishing look as he raises his wine glass. “I  _ am  _ giving it my best efforts, you know.”

She gives the glass a long, scrutinizing look. “You’re so  _ Aedyran _ .” With a grin, Neria grabs the chair from the opposite side of the table and drags it closer to Aloth, twisting it and sitting in it backwards. She rests her arms on the back of the chair and gives him a little shrug. “I won’t stop you if this is how you want to spend your night. But I  _ am  _ a gracious host, and by the Effigy, I don’t neglect my guests.”

He’s watched her for most of the evening as she goes between the kitchens and the makeshift dance floor and visited with the gathered friends and companions and allies, and he certainly won’t turn her away now that she’s deemed it time to turn to him. The work he’s been doing lately is  _ lonely  _ \-- surprisingly so, even with Iselmyr as company -- and he hadn’t realized how accustomed he’d grown to traveling with a group. To be back with most everyone is… comfortable, even if he’s spent much of the evening keeping to himself. 

“It’s a wonderful party. Though, I admit that I still don’t fully understand the circumstance.”

Neria’s grin only widens. “We killed a fucking dragon. There’s more to it, y’know, but mostly just because we killed a dragon and I wanted to throw a party.”

_ More to it _ seems to be an understatement, from what he’s gathered. “Yes, Kana mentioned that you’ve been exploring the caverns beneath the keep.”

“Yeah. Lots of creepy shit down there. We’ve got--” Her words come to an abrupt halt and she stands suddenly -- wobbling a bit as she does -- and motions for Aloth to follow. “I just remembered something. C’mon. And leave the wine. Or bring it. It’ll be quick.”

Eyes narrowing, Aloth sets his wine glass down and stands. “ _ What  _ will be quick?” he asks, following Neria as she leads him through the keep, despite the odd doubt in the back of his mind. 

But Neria doesn’t respond, and ushers him up and towards the library. Stepping around one of the cats lounging in front of a bookshelf, she reaches up and pulls a thick tome down off of one of the shelves. “Found it down there and figured you’d appreciate it. I recognized the name on the inscription,” she explains, handing him the book, “so it’s  _ gotta _ be good, right?”

Aloth recognizes the book as a grimoire before he even takes it from Neria, but as soon as it’s in his hands he can sense an almost unbelievable amount of power emanating from the tome. “This came from the caverns of Od Nua?” 

“Yep. Very bottom. The dragon -- y’know, the one we killed -- was practically sitting on this. There’s still a shit load of gold and stuff down there, but I didn’t want to leave this behind.”

She’s practically beaming -- whether it’s pride from the dragon or simply warmth towards the grimoire she’s gifting him, Aloth can’t quite tell -- and he inspects the elegant design on the front of the book before opening it. His eyes go wide as he begins to read, and it’s several moments before he speaks. “This… this belonged to Minoletta. It’s…” He isn’t sure just  _ how  _ to convey how important of a find it is, not without explaining the magic behind it or the impact Minoletta had on spellcasting. “This grimoire might as well be a  _ myth _ .”

“And here you thought I only asked you to come for the party,” she teases. “Just because you’re off doing your own thing now doesn’t mean we don’t think about you.” She elbows him and looks up with a self-satisfied smirk, but there’s an unexpected warmth and sincerity in her voice. 

“Thank you, Neria. I don’t--”

“Hey.” She holds up a hand to stop him. “You’re stuck with us, Aloth. Like it or not, we’re your friends and we’re gonna do nice things for you even though you aren’t living at Caed Nua anymore.”

He can’t hold back the beginning of a wry smile. “You make it sound like such a threat.”

“It is. Now c’mon, let’s get back to the party.”


End file.
